Your Opinions on the Paranormal?

somehow im guessing if aliens were interested with us, it might only be for our artwork.

Be careful when you go to the next art exhibit in your area.

seriously why would they fly great distances while bending laws of physics (or meeting them but doing something like in star trek)

just to fly around and amuse themselves?

I reckon all the government stuff has been over-exagerated shenigans between them and russia or them and nazi germany.

Post deleted by Valura

Are you sure that isn't all perfectly explainable by the science of psychology neurology and the study of philosophy, and all the overlap inbetween.

yes im sure.

[quote Pele] I was born and raised a spiritualist/pagan. If I were to get into it, this note would be a mile long. So my answer will be yes to spirits, yes to funky readings (I do Tarot and past life readings), things coming up missing and then reappearing for no apparent reason, my son even has a friend he calls ghost that he can only talk to or see in the upstairs of our home.
But...I have two quick stories I can share.
Two days ago my grandmother and I were chatting over many topics, legalization of pot for medical use, parents getting too hyper over children's minor illness, my cousin having a baby (and I haven't seen her in 5 years) as well as a few other family issues/jokes. In the 24 following our conversation everything manifested itself somehow. We watched the news where the two mid-line stories were the legalization of pot in Nevada for medical use and the vote resurging in NY again, as well as a doctors issue being filed about parents giving children over the counter meds out of fear of minor illnesses. Then I ran into my cousin with her new baby that night, after 4 years. And all of the family things we discussed actually came to pass. My mom has forbidden me to talk with grams unless it is about winning the lotto.
The other is when we moved into this house we had someone constantly knocking on our back door, but no one is there. At least ten of us have gone to answer it. Once we stopped trying to answer the door, the knocking stopped. He now paces our upstairs hall instead, but he's a rather nice fellow.
Okay...so those are the most recent two.
next?

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then im sure your sure. and, am interested in the cool stuff you know and study.

*rolls around giggling at NYC*

nyc that story seems to sum up like my entire life.

like, thoughts/ideas/events being discussed (internally or externally) manifesting themselves in freaky ways.

also karma seems to be a ridiciously undeniable phenomen in my life.

For example, one time me and my friend were breaking an aforementioned law in a parking garage. Some guy comes to us when I am done running around bounceing off walls (literally as I was trying to see how many steps I could run along a wall) and we exit the parking garage and are on the sidewalk of downtown halifax.

Some guy who is genuinly frantic and doesn't seem homeless or a junkie comes up to me and needs money to pool with his money he has begged off other people to try to get a tow truck to take his broken down car back to his rural community. I believed him, and between the two of us gave him nearly all our money which was like 25 bucks. I have no idea if he spent the money on anything but cocaine, but im giving him the benefit of the doubt.

So, I become homeless quite awhile latter and im in toronto, with no money, no idea where you can get free food and low blood sugar. Some guy with the same accent of the previous guy is asking me for money. Im like "uh im suffering from low blood sugar and have a migraine, if I had money I would have spent it on food)

he's like "What? Uh im sorry I was just scamming you for money im homeless" I ask him where he's from and he's from the same town. He gives me exactly 15 dollars of the crack money he had collected running around scamming people. Which happens to be exactly my contribution to a guy who seemed to really need the money in an entirely diffrent city (I didn't need the money and was going to spend it on pot)

I use it to feed myself untill I find out where I can get free food and whatnot.

in general, whenever I go on any sort of adventure crazy stuff happens like that. I go insane trying to figure it out and piece it all together.

Hey NYC...you forgot to quote me on that!!!
Sheesh...just cause my life is interesting doesn't mean you have to steal it from me!

No one else caught on that in "NYC's story" it mentioned him having a son????
That was a few years ago now..what? 3 or 4? Wow! Time flies and all that jazz.

That is why I said no stories you see. There are already threads detailing stories from people who believe.

I wanted to see how many believed, or don't, and what they do or do not believe in silly man!

I have to say that what I am finding intriguing is that many people are saying they believe but then discounting ghost hunts or the televised ones (there is a show here where they rarely find anything but it is sometimes cool to see the dynamic). Why is this?
I completely understand the not believing in the Hollywood hype versions, that is a given. Yet, why condemn those who believe the same as you and are searching for proof, but in a more public way?

Ghost hunts are done in small groups, lead by someone with rational thinking to calm hysterias when they hit. This is also for safety. One person can get hurt trolling around in the dark, ghosts or no. We have open amatuer ghost hunts where people come and walk around this creepy old building with a loong history of lots of death to see if they can find ghosts. Hints and tips are given, and then we wait til someone needs help, wants an escort into a particularly scary place, and in the event of group hysteria we calm them down and reason with them, then send them back into the tunnels. So...where is this different from trying to figure out that feeling you are being watched in your home with your friends to cover you?
This intrigues me.

I think that people's views on spirits and energies are fascinating and I look forward to hearing more. How about the difference between a poltergeist, a ghost and a spirit? Are they different to you?

Blood drinking (not in the dracula..live forever sense) but the believing in the need to consume blood to live, and as a source of life energy, is a real psychological disorder called Renfield's Syndrome, btw. Named after the character in Stoker's Dracula.
I knew someone once who was diagnosed with it and had to undergo some serious therapy to keep from hurting herself.
There were also profiles of such people on the two hour show "Modern Vampirism" a few years back as well.

Right now, as the thread stands it is interesting to see that there are more believers on the whole but that everyone has a limit to what they will believe, so no one is completely open to any possibility. Hmmmm...that's food for thought.

Thanks all! This is great!

I believe there are many planes of existance that cross over into each other. Within many people are the abilitities to see these planes. Like Valuras abilities and yours. To me it seems you can both see not just right here and now.

Some people embrace it as you both have, some cant see it, some can see it and explain it away and some are scared of it. Each to their own.

I like Valuras energy vampire comparison. I call some people physic Vampires as they seem to drain energy from us. Many children are like this which to me explains why kids parties are so exhausting.

When people talk about the paranormal, they're talking about things that science has not yet explained. 500 years ago, things like St. Elmo's Fire and eclipses were paranormal. Now we understand these things. But perhaps, someday science will reach a point where it can explain no more, and we will have to accept the existence of UFO's and pyrokinesis.

I would really love to believe in life after death, so I've always walked a fine line bewteen skepticism and hope. It is my belief that I've seen 2 ghosts in my lifetime. I'm fairly certain my last apartment was haunted, though I never saw who or what it was.

UFO's have been described since ancient times, and I certainly believe that intelligent life must have evolved elsewhere. I imagine if they are visiting us, the must be studying us as well, perhaps even abducting us, otherwise, why make the trip?

Things like demonic possession or magic I would be more skeptical about, since they are more easily explainable as psi-talents. I have friends who read tarot cards, some with amazing accuracy. I realize that cards, palms or whatever you use are merely tools, through which other abilities are channelled.

Hollywood monsters are just that, things pulled out of hundred-year-old books. Vampires & werewolves are imaginary, except in politics.

I would like to be on such an investigative team, I think it would be a fascinating experience. Unfortunately I have no degrees or certification. Perhaps the only thing that might qualify me to be on a paranormal research team is to be the necessary voice of skepticism, the one who says, "that orb is just a bug," or that cold chill came from the crack in the foundation." I've also experimented with spirit photography, read a lot on techniques, and how to spot fakes. I've seen enough online fakes to fill an internet. Maybe when I finally catch a ghost on film, I'll turn in my application.

My verdict is still out on a lot of paranormal subjects because i used to be a hardline skeptic. But that changed somewhat when i started to learn Reiki, a form of energy healing from Japan.

I went on a couple of courses and was surprised to find that it actually works. I've tried in on my friends (many who have seen the benefits), my plants and myself. And as far as proof goes, on 157 research studies on Reiki worldwide, 67 got results that were of significant or highly significant values. This is a high amount and twice as much as would be needed for a drug to be sold in the UK.

So energy does exist and we can use it for ourselves and others, and all that otehr crazy stuff, i still think i'll have to see/feel it untill i fully believe.

ps: anyone with any severe burns or problems and i'll send you some healing, just PM me and we'll sort it out

Hey Prometheus...

Actually, there are a few people on the team who have no sensativity but who are really great with tech stuff. And everyone checks for reasons for things while we are in them. That is part of being an investigator and not just a ghost chaser.
To first rule out logic and science.

If you are interested, I think the founders are still hiring, and I know of two groups in your area (not CSICOP though...long story) but can not vouche for either of them as to their methods.
Well...it is one of those news things I said I wanted to talk with you last night about so I will wait till I call you later.

I definately think your last apartment was occupied by more than you, but we've talked about that before.

That's an interesting perspective Y.T. I'll have to give more thought to that train.


As for something which is "paranormal" being not proven yet...that is the point of the word. Pull it apart .. Para is a loanword from Greek as a prefix meaning beyond or past. So all it means is that something is beyond normal, which means it does not have to be fantastical to be paranormal at all. That description fits half of those things that science is attempting to prove but at this moment can not.

Thanks all!

I am pretty agnostic when it comes to the paranormal. There are many things I have experienced that could not be fully explained, but that doesn't mean that I am willing to put everything into the generous lap of psychic phenomena or magic.
Many things of this nature can be explained away in a rational, scientific manner, which makes more sense to me. The mind has such control over the human body that at times it is easy to confuse elements of psychology with what could be considered paranormal. Thats how voodoo, faith healing and the fakirs all work.

However, I am also open-minded enough that if it can be proven to me that something exists then I will believe it. That proof will take a bit of work, though.

Raph

hey spitfire.. i know im behind on this thread but id like to try and answer your question about what happens to energy when we die..
well, studying biology i sort of learned about this..
when one animal eats another, only about 10% of the energy is passed on to the predator (thats also why there are so many more insects that lions for example.. not that lions eat insects, but indirectly they do get their energy.. or part of it anyways)
anywho, the rest of the 90% is either taken up through decomposition or lost through excretion of feces and whatnot.. so, when an animal dies naturally from old age or leukemia or something all that energy is then absorbed by nature around it.. either ants eating it, or fungus growing on it, or plants taking up its minerals..
the point is.. due to my scientific view on that, i dont think that the energy from a dead animal is in anyway carried on paranormally.. and that a spirit goes on living.. .uh uh. for me thats impossible.. again cuz of my scientific view..
incidentally, does anyone here believe in reincarnation? in the literal sense.. not absorption of energy.

aliens and/or ufos have to be out there. there cannot possibly be that many stars, with that much potential for life, and us be the only ones capable of doing more than counting. its infeasable. unless, of course, we are a god created once off, which makes my head hurt.

oh, just to be clear, i just re read my post and realized that i didnt answer the original question posted by pele

do i believe in the paranormal.. yes, i do believe in ghosts, but i havent given it that much thought yet.. not the typical kind seen in films with the white robe, but just certain spirits that are out on some kind of mission.. perhaps to give a warning, or maybe even as some form of guardian angel.. but i dont think that every person let alone every animal or plant that dies continues to live on in spirit to roam the earth and terrorize the living..

werewolves and vampires? probly not, unless they escaped from a dr. jeckyll like chemical experiment that went horribly wrong..

to answer my own question about reincarnation, thats a strange topic.. there are several possibilities of reincarnation.. one, that every living creature when it dies comes back and continues on living as some other species. two, that only humans reincarnate as other humans..
the latter i rule out.. think about this around 1900 there were a fraction of the amount of ppl on this planet as there are now, so if everyone is reincarnated when they die, where did the others billions come from? plus, why should we be any different than any other living creature on this planet? just because we have the mental capacity to think and discuss topics like this doesnt mean its exclusive to us (same goes for religion with me, but thats a diff topic altogether)
the former is more likely, but again i stick to my scientific view.. every living creature, whether its a sea urchin or a cactus, is reincarnated in the sense that its life energy is absorbed to feed other living creatures..